We continue in Chapter 9 of Kohelet. After King Solomon spoke about the one event that befalls everyone, he moves on to clarify the advantage of life: what remains in a person's hands as long as he is alive, and what is closed to him the moment he departs from this world. From this emerges the practical lesson: in whom is it permitted to place trust, what is the purpose of life, and what is the proper way to use it.
We discussed how man needs to be connected both inwardly and outwardly. Just as a person missing a bodily limb is not considered a complete person but someone with a blemish, so too a person who detaches himself from society is not considered complete, but lacking and blemished. It turns out, then, that in order for me to live in a complete world, I must rely on many people: trust the farmer to plow his field and cultivate the grain properly, trust the baker not to err and to bake me bread from the flour he received from the farmer, trust the weaver to weave the cloth, the tailor to sew the garment, the builder to build a house, and the carpenter to make me a bed, a chair, and a table. Our entire life is founded upon a great measure of reliance on others.
כִּי מִי אֲשֶׁר יְחֻבַּר אֶל כׇּל הַחַיִּים יֵשׁ בִּטָּחוֹן, כִּי לְכֶלֶב חַי הוּא טוֹב מִן הָאַרְיֵה הַמֵּת. - For whoever is joined to all the living has trust, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
This is what the Wise Man says: "Whoever is joined to all the living" - meaning a person living here in this world and connected to society - "has trust," for his life depends on this trust, that he relies on all those who assist and support him. But all this is only as long as that person is alive. After his death, in whom will you trust? You wanted to rely on so-and-so, and suddenly there is no bread today: the bakery owner passed away, and the workers went on unpaid leave. You relied on someone who is no longer among the living. "To the living there is trust" means that one can only rely on a person while he is alive; after his death, it is entirely impossible to rely on him.
"For a living dog is better than a dead lion": Although a dog is brazen and inferior to a lion, it is better to rely on it than on a dead lion, whose mighty power can no longer be of any use. In simple terms: in the reality of this world where we depend on one another, we can only lean upon and be assisted by someone who is alive. One who is considered dead, even if he was a lion, can no longer be relied upon.
And who is the One truly worthy of trust, Who lives eternally? The living God. "In You we trusted all the day" - it is in Hashem that it makes sense to trust, for the hope of one who trusts in Him is never disappointed. Whatever you hope and anticipate from Hashem, the Holy One, Blessed is He, always fulfills. But when you trust in man: "Do not trust in princes, in the son of man in whom there is no salvation; his spirit departs, he returns to his earth." Will you trust in someone who is here today and in the grave tomorrow? This is "for a living dog is better than a dead lion." You place your trust in someone powerful and influential - a lion - but a dead lion. It turns out that your entire trust depends on whether that person is alive or dead, and when he dies, you no longer have anyone to trust.
It is told of the Gaon Rabbi Isser Zalman Meltzer, author of Even HaEzel, that once a young man who was an extraordinary prodigy arrived at his yeshivah abroad, and he was immensely impressed by him. When he traveled to meet with the Alter of Kelm, he took the young man with him and said, "I have brought the next leader of the generation with me." They sat and discussed words of Torah, and indeed they were astounded by the young man - by his sharpness, depth, comprehension, grasp, and memory. It was astonishing.
After the meeting ended, Rabbi Isser Zalman held a private conversation with the Alter of Kelm and asked, "Well, what do you say?" The Alter replied, "From this young man there will emerge neither a gadol hador nor anything else. Nothing will come of him." Rabbi Isser Zalman asked him, "On what basis?" For the Alter of Kelm was a master of understanding human nature. He could speak with a person for a brief moment and immediately discern his character, disposition, and way of thinking. So too with Rabbi Yerucham of Mir: it is told that he once asked a student about someone who had come to be accepted to the yeshivah, and the student replied that he did not know, as he had only spoken with him for five minutes. Rabbi Yerucham said to him, "What, you spoke with him for five minutes and could not discern his character?" With Rabbi Yerucham, a person was fully transparent before him within a single minute of conversation.
The Alter of Kelm told him: "While we were speaking, a cup of tea was poured, and a few grains of sugar fell onto the table. That young man put his finger into his mouth, touched the grains of sugar, put his finger back into his mouth, and licked it off. This is a severe flaw in derech eretz, something that simply is not done, and all the more so when sitting before gedolei hador, licking sugar off the table with one's finger. Nothing good will come of him."
Rabbi Isser Zalman thought the Alter of Kelm was exaggerating somewhat. It is related that before they left, the Alter turned to that young man and asked: "Which is better, a living dog or a dead lion?" The young man immediately quoted the verse: "For a living dog is better than a dead lion." The Alter said to him: "And now I will ask you a riddle: How can it be that a dead dog is better than a living human being?" The prodigy answered decisively: "That is impossible; there is no such thing." The Alter of Kelm replied: "Here you are mistaken. Chazal state that any Torah scholar who lacks da'at, a carcass is better than him. Thus, a dead dog can indeed be better than a living man - than a Torah scholar who lacks proper judgment and refinement."
And regarding whom was this statement made? Regarding Moshe Rabbeinu! On the verse "And He called to Moshe" (Vayikra 1:1), Chazal explain that Moshe Rabbeinu did not enter the Mishkan until the Holy One, blessed be He, called him. Had he entered without being summoned, it would have shown a lack of derech eretz, and a carcass would have been better than him. Even concerning Moshe Rabbeinu these astonishing words were said! The hint to the young man was clear: where there is no derech eretz, nothing good will emerge.
When they came to take their leave, Rabbi Isser Zalman remarked again: "It seems to me that the Rav exaggerated a bit." The Alter of Kelm answered him: "Know this: if this young man does not change his character traits and his nature, not only will no benefit come from him, but quite the contrary. The world will be shaken by him, but in a negative way." And so they parted in disagreement.
This story was related by Rav Meir Chodosh, who served as mashgiach in Yeshivat Or Elchanan and would visit Chevron during Elul to deliver discourses - shmuessen that talmidim in Chevron Yeshiva were privileged to hear. Rav Meir Chodosh said: "I knew that man. He married, obtained a rabbinic post in a certain town, became involved in illicit commerce, smuggling, and the like, was caught, and sat in prison. Not only were good things not heard of him, but only negative things were heard, may Hashem protect us." The Alter of Kelm was entirely accurate in his diagnosis.
This comes to teach us how true this concept is: "For a living dog is better than a dead lion" - yet know that even the carcass of a dog is preferable to a person who lacks derech eretz, who lacks proper refinement of character. This does not mean there is no possibility of repair; indeed, the Alter of Kelm explicitly said, "if he does not rectify his character traits," meaning that had he corrected his middot, he could have achieved true greatness. This demonstrates how deeply one must recognize that derech eretz and character refinement are the very foundation upon which a person is built. If, Heaven forbid, there is a severe flaw here, nothing lasting will emerge. He may possess vast knowledge, he may master numerous tractates of Gemara, but becoming a truly great person is an entirely different matter. The diagnosis of the Alter of Kelm remains just as relevant today.
כִּי הַחַיִּים יוֹדְעִים שֶׁיָּמֻתוּ, וְהַמֵּתִים אֵינָם יוֹדְעִים מְאוּמָה, וְאֵין עוֹד לָהֶם שָׂכָר כִּי נִשְׁכַּח זִכְרָם. - For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no further reward, for their memory is forgotten.
Rashi explains: "For the living know that they will die" - and perhaps they will take the day of death to heart and repent from their ways. As long as a person is alive there is hope; perhaps he will do teshuvah, perhaps he will awaken. But the dead, from the moment they pass away, know nothing. Whatever one might wish, seek, or desire to change is over. He who toils on Friday will eat on Shabbat.
The Gemara in Berachot 18a recounts: Rabbi Chiyya and Rabbi Yonatan were walking in a cemetery, and Rabbi Yonatan's techelet tzitzit were dragging over the graves. Rabbi Chiyya said to him: "Lift them up, so the dead do not say: 'Tomorrow they will join us, yet now they mock us!'" Why is this considered mocking? Because performing a mitzvah in the presence of one who is prevented from performing mitzvot is like shaming him, for it violates the principle of "lo'eg larash" (mocking the pauper). The dead person is a pauper regarding Torah and mitzvot, unable to fulfill them, and "he who mocks the pauper blasphemes his Maker" (Mishlei 17:5) - he scoffs, as it were, at the Holy One, blessed be He. This is why Chazal said: "Tomorrow they will join us, yet today they allow themselves to demean us by dragging their tzitzit across our graves."
Rabbi Yonatan said to him: But it is written, "and the dead know nothing," so what do you have to worry about? They know nothing! He replied to him: Do you know the Midrashic exposition of the verse? "For the living know that they will die" - these are the righteous, who even in their death are called alive. As it says, "And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the son of a living man" - is everyone else the child of a dead man? Rather, "the son of a living man" means that even in his death he is called alive. "And the dead know nothing" - these are the wicked, who even in their lifetime are called dead, as it says, "By the mouth of two witnesses shall the dead man be put to death." Is he dead? He is still alive! Rather, he is fundamentally dead: spiritually, he is already dead. Once he committed a sin punishable by death, he is defined as dead from the moment of the transgression, and what we are doing is physically putting to death someone who is already dead spiritually.
What have we learned? That the wicked person is considered dead even during his lifetime, and the righteous person is considered alive even after his death. And this aspect of being "alive" applies to Torah and mitzvot as well. You might ask: Can a righteous person perform Torah and mitzvot after death? The answer is: "And I will give you walking access among these who stand." Our Sages say that the righteous, in their death, are considered "walkers" - continuously advancing and increasing in Torah and the service of Hashem. While he cannot perform physical mitzvot, everything he left behind here continues to grant him movement. If he left children who walk in the path of Hashem, they are his feet in the World of Truth. And if not, but he accomplished something here: established a Torah class, brought merit to the public, brought a Jew back in teshuvah, wrote a book from which people learn so that his lips move in the grave, this too is an aspect of "walking." Thus, the righteous person is considered alive even after death, for his deeds continue to exist.
Therefore, do not understand the verse only in its plain sense, as if the deceased do not know what is taking place here. These words were spoken of the wicked, who are called dead in their lifetime and know nothing: such a person does not know where he is heading, and he does not realize that every day he remains here, he is merely stoking the fires of Gehennom for himself.
The Imrei Shefer explains: There are many levels in human knowledge. One person knows a little, another knows a lot, and another knows a great deal. But there is one piece of knowledge that is not hidden from the eyes of any living person, and there is no one who does not know it: "those who know that they will die." To know that man is temporary here in this world. And this knowledge is vital to man, as our Sages said: If he overcomes his inclination, good; if not, let him remind himself of the day of death. This knowledge brings a person to an awakening, for in the end, one must give an accounting: "and know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment." At the end of every supermarket, there is a cash register.
However, "the dead know nothing": one who has already departed from the world no longer has any knowledge that can bring him closer to His service, blessed be He. What knowledge could awaken him now? The Imrei Shefer adds a parable: Sometimes a person travels far away, leaving behind many possessions at home, fields and vineyards. When he returns, no one has touched a thing, because everyone knows he traveled for a period of time and is destined to return, so the property has an owner. But when a person departs to his eternal home, his memory is forgotten, and he no longer derives any benefit from his possessions. And if he has no relatives, everyone rushes to grab whatever they can. The dead person knows nothing: what was done with his assets, where they went, or who took them. Only a living person can engage in soul-searching, know that he is destined to leave this world, and hasten in the service of Hashem.
גַּם אַהֲבָתָם גַּם שִׂנְאָתָם גַּם קִנְאָתָם כְּבָר אָבָדָה, וְחֵלֶק אֵין לָהֶם עוֹד לְעוֹלָם בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשָׂה תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ. - Also their love, also their hatred, and also their envy have already perished, and they no longer have any share forever in all that is done under the sun.
According to Rashi, the verse speaks of the wicked: "Also their love" - that they loved folly and mockery. "Also their hatred" - that they hated knowledge. "Also their envy" - that they provoked the Holy One, blessed be He, to jealousy through the work of their hands. And some interpret all of this as referring to the generation of the Flood: their love, in that they loved doing evil and robbing, as it says, "for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth"; their hatred, in that they hated the Omnipresent; their jealousy, in that they provoked the Holy One, blessed be He, to anger with the work of their hands.
"And they no longer have any share forever" - Rashi explains that for those wicked people who worshiped idols, the merit of a son or daughter does not help them, and they have no atonement after death. Most of the sons they leave behind follow in their ways, and consequently, such a son not only fails to bring his father to the life of the World to Come, but actually deepens his Gehennom, for he will be held accountable: How could you leave behind such a destructive son? As people quipped satirically about Lapid the son, that he is "doing the will of his father in Heaven," while his father, author of the book "Paprika," is already there. May Hashem save us. It is not enough that he will be held accountable for his own transgressions; he will also be held accountable for the transgressions of the children he left behind.
The Midrash Rabbah states: "Also their love," which was directed toward their idol worship; "also their hatred," in that they were hateful before the Holy One, blessed be He, because of their deeds; "also their envy," in that they provoked the Holy One, blessed be He, to jealousy with their idols; "and they no longer have any share" in the World to Come. But Israel has a portion and a good reward, and this is the meaning of the next verse: "Go, eat your bread with joy," which speaks of the righteous who have a share in the World to Come.
The Imrei Shefer explains the verse in another way: There is a reality where a person loves one of his associates and gives him control over his estate, to manage his household, his businesses, and his fields, while another he hates; not only does he give the latter no managerial role whatsoever, but he distances him from all his property and gives him nothing. And at times it happens that after that person passes away, the roles are reversed: precisely the beloved no longer controls the estate, and the hated one is the one who now controls it.
There was a Jewish man who passed away childless at the age of seventy from the illness, may Hashem protect us. He had no family, but his parents had left him a plot of land, and he decided to build a villa there. When visited during his illness, he was still continuing the construction, showing what he had done here and what he had added there. And one could only think: How pitiful is this man; for whom is he toiling and striving so hard? No one said a word to him, for this is a very sensitive matter - if you mention it, a person immediately suspects you covet his money. During the construction, he had a bitter falling out with his nephews, fought with them, and stopped speaking to them - a terrible dispute. Ultimately, his time came and he was gathered to his eternal home. There was a niece who had cared for him with great devotion, and it turned out that he had not done even the obvious thing of registering the house in her name. He was so certain he was staying in this world. And who inherited him in the end? Those very nephews with whom he had fought the entire time and exchanged curses. The niece later recounted that while they were still sitting shiva, they were already asking whether he had left a will. They could not even wait until the shiva was over.
And so says the Imrei Shefer: If the original master were now to rise from his grave and gaze for a few moments upon his house, he would see that a new ruler has risen over the old ruler - the one you demoted now rules over the one you appointed, establishing a new order to your chagrin over the wealth acquired by the sweat of your brow. And not only has "their love and their hatred already perished," for his hated one has supplanted his beloved, but "neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun" - there is no one who consults him, no one who asks him how to manage affairs, and he has not even a share in all that he toiled for. And when a person sees this, he will cry out: How much did I toil? On what did I squander my days? How many exertions did I endure, how much wandering did I suffer, how many days did I not eat on time, how many nights did sleep elude my eyes just to acquire a single piece of property, and what came of all my toil? Here comes a base person and takes it all. Regarding this, Shlomo says: All this I have seen.
לֵךְ אֱכֹל בְּשִׂמְחָה לַחְמֶךָ וּשְׁתֵה בְלֶב טוֹב יֵינֶךָ, כִּי כְבָר רָצָה הָאֱלֹהִים אֶת מַעֲשֶׂיךָ. - "Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already favored your deeds."
From here stems Shlomo's recommendation. The Imrei Shefer says: How long will you wander like a lost sheep after illusions? How long will you squander precious and delightful wealth - which is your life - for a driven leaf, which is the money and possessions that are entirely transient? After all, your days are numbered and no one lives here forever, yet you waste them on acquiring property and an endless pursuit of futile matters. If you heed my counsel: "Go, eat your bread with joy" - whatever you have earned, eat it with joy, the opposite of the grief and sorrow that drag a person down to the grave.
For the reality is that the endless pursuit of material things does not make a person happy. A fleeting achievement might give him a good feeling - he bought something, he attained something - but immediately the next desire awakens, the next ambition, the next craving, for "he who has one hundred wants two hundred." Desires grow exponentially, and no man dies with even half his desire fulfilled. Thus he has no peace, only turmoil. Therefore, "Go, eat your bread with joy": Whatever you have, even if modest, be content with it and eat it with joy. "And drink your wine with a merry heart": Whatever you acquired through your labor, drink it with a good heart. Then you will know that your deeds are favored before the Omnipresent, for Hashem desires that a person be content with little and rejoice in his lot. But one who is not content, who remains in an endless race for achievements, has no peace of mind here, and after one hundred and twenty years he sometimes leaves his fortune to his enemy, as explained in the previous verse, which is cause for immense grief.
Rashi explains that this verse is the antithesis of what was said previously. "Their love, their hatred, their envy" was said regarding those who loved foolishness and mockery, who hated knowledge, and who provoked the Holy One, blessed be He, to jealousy through idolatry and the work of their hands. And in contrast to them, Shlomo says: You, the righteous person, "Go, eat your bread with joy," for the Holy One, blessed be He, has favored your good deeds, and you will have a portion in the World to Come. One stands opposite the other: the righteous person who rejoices in his deeds, versus the wicked person who is consumed by intrigues, envy, hatred, and the endless pursuit of money.
The Midrash says: Rav Huna the son of Rav Acha said, when school children take leave of their teacher's house, a heavenly voice goes forth and says to them, "Go, eat your bread with joy, for the breath of your mouths has been accepted before Me like a pleasing aroma." What a lofty stature the young school children possess, that the breath of their mouths is favorably accepted before Hashem, blessed be He! Perhaps this explains the expression "like a child fleeing from school" - once he hears such a heavenly voice saying "Go, eat your bread with joy," he does not merely walk but runs, in order to fulfill a mitzvah. And the Midrash continues: When the Jewish people depart from the synagogues and the study halls, a heavenly voice goes forth and says, "Go, eat your bread with joy, for your prayer has already been heard before Me like a pleasing aroma." It turns out that "Go, eat your bread with joy" always comes only after toil: after engaging in Torah study and after fulfilling mitzvot.
And this verse is recited at the conclusion of Yom Kippur, whose source is in the Midrash: Rabbi Levi interpreted the verse as referring to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the leaders of the generation fast, and the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives a third of sins. It is therefore always recommended to fast on the eve of Rosh Hashanah based on this Midrash, for this is not a mere colloquial saying but a Midrash promising that whoever fasts on the eve of Rosh Hashanah has a third of his sins erased. During the days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, select individuals fast, and the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives another third - some say this refers to Tzom Gedalyah, on which another third of sins is forgiven. On Yom Kippur, everyone fasts, and the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives everything, meaning all that remains, and a heavenly voice goes forth and says to them: "Go, eat your bread with joy, for God has already favored your deeds - your prayer has already been heard." Based on this Midrash, this verse was instituted at the conclusion of the Yom Kippur service.
These verses teach us the value of life. Man needs his fellow and depends upon him, yet true trust belongs only in the One Who lives forever, the Holy One, Blessed be He, and not in flesh and blood who is here today and in the grave tomorrow. The advantage of the living is the knowledge "that they will die" - an awareness that awakens a person to soul-searching and repentance, for after death there is no longer knowledge and no longer any opportunity for spiritual repair. The tzaddik, whose deeds continue to live on after him, is called alive even in death, whereas the wicked person is called dead even in his lifetime. From this also stems Shlomo's counsel: not to squander life in an endless pursuit of wealth that will be left to others, but rather to serve Hashem, to be content with little, and to rejoice in the portion the Creator has granted you: "Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already favored your deeds." And for all this, there is one essential foundation: derech eretz and refined character traits, without which even the greatest talents bear no fruit.